It is known to back up user data on one computer to another computer in a network. That may be done for various reasons including backing up to preserve user data whilst a new operating system is installed on a computer. User data includes settings and other data which may be termed the personality. Typically, the user data is backed up to a central server. U.S. Pat. No. 6,496,977 for example relates to a system and method for simplifying a system upgrade process. Initially, an automated data collection script is updated to include the identity and location of files containing personality and license information. A list of workstations to be upgraded is then compiled. The workstation list is called by the data collection script when it is executed. The data collection script collects personality and license information from the specified file on the listed workstations. The data collection script then outputs personality and license information to a temporary file at a network file system server. An upgrade script is executed after the workstations' operating systems have been upgraded, which uses the output from the data collection script for restoring personality and license information that may have been deleted or written over during the system upgrade.
It is desirable to reduce the load on a network and on servers in a network.